Best Clipboard Managers for Mac in 2026 (Compared)

Disclosure: SciHub101 is owned by the same team that builds Vee. We've listed it first because it fits the criteria below, but we've tried to judge every tool, including our own, by the same standard. Weaknesses of every pick are listed.

The Mac clipboard holds one thing at a time. Copy a second item and the first is gone. A clipboard manager keeps a history so you can paste something you copied ten minutes ago. This list compares six ways to get that, from a built-in macOS feature to paid apps, and says plainly where a free alternative beats the tool we build.

Facts come from each vendor's own pages, checked on October 4, 2026, except where noted for Apple's built-in feature.

How we picked

Clipboard managers differ less in capability than in where the history window appears, how long it remembers, and what it costs. We used four criteria.

• Where the history opens. A window in the middle of the screen pulls your eyes away from your work. One that opens by your text cursor is like a sticky note on the line you are editing instead of a whiteboard across the room.
• History length and content types. How many items, and whether images and files count.
• Price. Free, one-time, or subscription.
• Privacy. Whether data stays on your Mac.

Vee is first because it is ours and because opening history at the cursor is its stated design. That is a narrow niche, not a general win. Maccy is free and, per its own page, "will always be free," so if you want a free clipboard history and nothing else, start there. Vee's free tier is limited, and the entries below show how.

1. Vee (ours)

Vee is a macOS clipboard manager. You press ⌘⇧V and a list of recent copies opens at the cursor. You type to filter, press Return to paste, and use ⌘1 through ⌘9 for quick selection. A short notice shows what you copied and how many items are waiting. You can star favorites so they never age out. It lives in the menu bar, and an optional mode replaces ⌘V.

It requires macOS 13 Ventura or later, runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, downloads at about 3 MB, and asks for Accessibility permission on first launch. The site says nothing leaves your Mac.

Free is $0 with text history for the last 20 items and the Sky theme. Pro is $3 per month or $12.99 per year and lists unlimited history, paste transforms such as trim and lowercase, and snippets (saved text templates).

Best for: Light users who want history where they type, and who are willing to pay for longer history.

Limitations: The free tier is the most limited on this list, with only 20 text items. We saw no mention of sync across devices or an iPhone app. It needs Accessibility permission. Maccy gives you a free alternative, and Paste has more built-in features.

2. Maccy

Maccy is open source under the MIT license and says "It is and will always be free." It requires macOS Sonoma 14 or later and is available on the App Store and as a direct download. Its pitch is speed and keyboard-first search: "Just type what you want to find in history and hit Enter."

On privacy, it says that if your password manager removes a copied password from the clipboard, Maccy removes it too, and that everything is stored on your computer. It describes itself as doing "only one job."

Best for: Anyone who wants free, minimal, open-source clipboard history.

Limitations: It requires a newer macOS than Vee, and the page we read did not state a history cap, so check that against your needs. The page mentions no sync across devices, and it describes a deliberately single-purpose tool.

3. Paste

Paste runs on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, with iCloud sync and unlimited searchable history. You can pin items, and the site advertises sensitivity rules and an "Intelligent Clipboard" built on Apple Intelligence. It offers a seven-day trial, then $2.49 per month or $29.99 billed annually, plus a lifetime option.

Best for: People who copy on a Mac and paste on an iPhone.

Limitations: It is a subscription (or lifetime purchase) with no free tier beyond the trial. The macOS requirement wasn't stated on the page we read.

4. Raycast

Raycast's clipboard history stores text, images, colors, and links, lets you pin entries, and keeps history for up to three months. The page says content is encrypted and stored locally and that passwords from password managers and other transient data are ignored by default. Its shortcuts include ⌘⇧P to pin and ⌃X to remove an entry.

Best for: People who already use Raycast as a launcher and want clipboard history inside it.

Limitations: It is part of a larger launcher, so you adopt the whole app. The page did not say what is free versus Pro.

5. Alfred

Alfred's clipboard history saves text, images, and files, but it requires the paid Powerpack. The Powerpack page lists a single-user v5 license at £34 and a Mega Supporter license at £59 with free lifetime upgrades.

Best for: Alfred users who want clipboard history alongside workflows and other Powerpack features.

Limitations: It needs the paid license, and the page did not state how long history is retained.

6. macOS Spotlight clipboard history

macOS Tahoe includes clipboard history in Spotlight. Reporting from MakeTechEasier says you press ⌘Space and then ⌘4, and that the default retention is 8 hours, adjustable to 30 minutes or 7 days. It handles text and files, excludes passwords from password managers, and lets you remove entries or clear the history.

We relied on a news outlet rather than Apple's own documentation for this entry, so verify it on your Mac.

Best for: People who want zero installs and only short-term recall.

Limitations: Retention caps at seven days, and per that reporting, you cannot go beyond it. The feature requires macOS Tahoe.

A short history: from one slot to a history

Cut, copy, and paste are older than the Mac. Larry Tesler and Tim Mott built a word processor called Gypsy at Xerox PARC in the 1970s, and it is best known for popularizing the terms "cut," "copy," and "paste" for moving chunks of text. Tesler later joined Apple. The model they helped establish, one clipboard holding one item, has lasted for decades.

Apple has added to it in steps rather than replacing it. Universal Clipboard lets you copy on one Apple device and paste on another nearby one. Apple's support page lists the conditions: the devices are near each other, signed in with the same Apple Account, with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on and Handoff on (it is on by default). Apple also says the copied content stays there only briefly, or until you copy something else. That is a transfer feature, not a history.

macOS Tahoe added the first built-in history, inside Spotlight, covered in entry 6 above. Third-party managers filled that gap for years before, and they still go further on retention, content types, and how you reach the list.

How a clipboard manager works

On macOS, the clipboard is called the general pasteboard. A clipboard manager watches it, and when the contents change, it saves a copy into its own history. When you choose an old item, the manager puts that item back on the pasteboard and, usually, sends a paste keystroke to the app you are working in.

That last step explains a permission prompt you will see from most of these tools. Vee's site says it needs Accessibility permission "so it can open on your shortcut." Apps that paste on your behalf or respond to global shortcuts generally need this kind of access, which macOS grants in System Settings under Privacy & Security.

It also explains the hardest privacy problem in this category. Other apps put things on the pasteboard that you never meant to save: a password your password manager filled, or data an app moved through the pasteboard for a moment. A long-standing community convention at nspasteboard.org defines marker types that apps can attach so history tools know what to skip:

• org.nspasteboard.ConcealedType marks confidential content such as passwords. The convention says it should be hidden if displayed and ideally encrypted if stored.
• org.nspasteboard.TransientType marks content that will only be on the pasteboard for a moment and should not be recorded.
• org.nspasteboard.AutoGeneratedType marks content an app generated without the user choosing to copy it.

These markers only work when the source app sets them and the clipboard manager honors them. Maccy and Raycast both state that they ignore passwords and transient data by default, which matches this approach. If you copy a password by hand from a text file, no marker is set, and any history tool will save it.

More detail on the top two picks

Vee

Vee's own page lists these specifics beyond the entry above:

• Content types: the site lists text, images, and files. The free tier covers the last 20 text items; image and file clipboard history are listed under Pro.
• Keys: ⌘⇧V opens the menu at your cursor, Return confirms, Esc closes, and ⌘1 through ⌘9 paste quickly.
• Themes: Sky, Sunset, and Forest. Free includes Sky.
• Licensing: Pro needs no account, and a license key activates up to three Macs. The yearly plan is described as saving 64% against monthly.
• Footprint: it lives in the menu bar, not the Dock.

Maccy

Maccy's GitHub README fills in what its homepage leaves out:

• Default shortcut: Shift + Command + C opens the history.
• Paste: Option + Enter pastes the selected item, and Option + Shift + Enter pastes without formatting.
• Pin and delete: Option + P pins, Option + Delete removes an item.
• Install: Homebrew users can run brew install maccy, or download a release from GitHub or the App Store.
• Filters: it skips password manager content and transient data automatically, and you can add custom types to ignore.

The README also carries a security warning worth repeating: use only the official site, maccy.app, because an imposter site, maccyapp.net, has distributed malware. Free, popular apps attract copycats, so check the domain before downloading any clipboard tool.

More detail on Spotlight clipboard history

Because the built-in option is free, it deserves a closer look. Reporting from MacMost and Tom's Guide adds the following, which we have not confirmed against Apple's own documentation:

• Opening it: press ⌘Space, then ⌘4, or click the Clipboard icon in Spotlight.
• Using an item: double-click to paste at the cursor, or use the button beside an item to put it back on the clipboard for ⌘V.
• Retention: reporting says macOS 26.1 lets you choose 30 minutes, 8 hours, or 7 days, with a button to clear history.
• What it keeps: reporting says formatting is stripped, so only plain text is saved, and items copied from Apple's Passwords app are excluded.

For many people, a week of plain-text history covers the common case of "I copied that link this morning." Where it falls short is formatted text, long retention, and pinned snippets you reuse for months.

Setting one up: a step-by-step

This sequence works for any third-party manager on this list.

1. Download from the vendor's own site or the App Store. For Maccy, that means maccy.app, GitHub, or the App Store, per its README warning.
2. Grant only the permission asked for. Expect an Accessibility prompt. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Accessibility, and switch the app on.
3. Check the shortcut does not collide. ⌘⇧V is also "Paste and Match Style" in some apps. Vee uses ⌘⇧V by design, so if you rely on that paste command, decide which you want before you get used to either. Maccy defaults to ⇧⌘C instead.
4. Set exclusions before you build a history. Add your password manager and any app that handles sensitive data to the ignore list, if the tool offers one.
5. Copy something sensitive on purpose, as a test. Fill a dummy password from your password manager, then open the history. If it appears, adjust settings before you use it for real work.
6. Pin what you reuse. An address, a standard reply, or a code snippet works better as a pinned or starred item than buried in history.
7. Clear history before screen sharing. A clipboard list that pops up during a call can expose whatever you copied earlier.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every password is filtered. Filtering depends on the source app marking the content. Text copied from a note or a spreadsheet is ordinary text.
• Confusing Universal Clipboard with sync. Universal Clipboard moves one item between nearby devices for a short time. Paste's iCloud sync, by its own description, keeps a searchable history across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• Running two managers at once. Two tools watching the same pasteboard both record every copy and may fight over shortcuts. Pick one.
• Paying before you know what annoys you. The free tiers and Spotlight are enough to learn whether you want longer history, images, or sync.
• Ignoring formatting. If you paste into email or documents, check whether the tool keeps rich text. Maccy has a separate paste-without-formatting shortcut, which suggests it keeps formatting by default, and Spotlight's history is reported to keep plain text only.

Misconceptions

"Clipboard managers upload everything." The tools here differ. Vee says nothing leaves your Mac, Maccy says everything is stored on your computer, and Raycast says content is encrypted and stored locally. Paste syncs through iCloud by design. Read the vendor's own statement rather than assuming either way.

"Open source means safe by default." Open source lets anyone inspect the code, which is a real advantage. It does not stop someone from hosting a fake download, as Maccy's own malware warning shows.

"The built-in feature makes third-party apps pointless." Spotlight's history is a real improvement, but its reported limits, plain text and seven days at most, leave room for tools that keep images, files, or pinned items longer.

Privacy checklist

Before you trust any clipboard tool with a year of copies, check four things on the vendor's own pages: where history is stored, whether it is encrypted, whether it syncs and through which service, and how to wipe it. If an answer is missing, treat it as unknown, not as "safe." For broader context, see how passwords are hacked and how to stop it and how encryption works.

Who does not need a clipboard manager

Not everyone benefits. If you copy and paste a few times a day and rarely reach back for an older item, Spotlight's built-in history on macOS Tahoe, or nothing at all, is enough. If you work mostly in one app that already keeps its own paste history, such as a code editor with a multi-item clipboard, a system-wide tool may duplicate what you have. And if you handle regulated or confidential data at work, check your employer's policy first, because a tool that records every copy creates a second store of that data on your disk.

The people who gain the most are writers, support staff, developers, and researchers who move many small pieces of text between apps all day. For them, the time saved comes from not switching windows to re-copy something, and from pinned items that replace a text file of saved snippets.

Side-by-side comparison

Tool	Price	History length	macOS requirement	Sync
Vee	Free; Pro $3/month or $12.99/year	Free: last 20 text items; Pro: unlimited	13 or later	None stated
Maccy	Free (MIT license)	Cap not stated on page	14 or later	Stored on your computer
Paste	7-day trial, $2.49/month or $29.99/year	Unlimited	Not stated	iCloud
Raycast	Not stated on page	Up to 3 months	"All configurations"	Local
Alfred	£34 or £59 Powerpack	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Spotlight (Tahoe)	Included	30 minutes to 7 days	macOS Tahoe	None stated

Figures are from vendor pages checked October 4, 2026.

What to pick if you are...

• A free-only user: Maccy or Spotlight. Both cost nothing.
• A multi-device user: Paste, for iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• A launcher fan: Raycast or Alfred, so you do not add another app.
• Someone who wants history at the typing position: Try Vee's free tier, and upgrade only if 20 text items is too few.

Related lists using the same disclosed method: free PDF tools, unit converters, and free e-signature tools.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the best free clipboard manager for Mac?
A: Maccy is the strongest free option on this list: open source, MIT licensed, and described on its site as always free. macOS Tahoe's built-in Spotlight history is also free but keeps at most seven days.

Q: Does Vee store my clipboard in the cloud?
A: Its site says nothing leaves your Mac and mentions no cloud sync. If you need history on several devices, Paste syncs through iCloud.

Q: How many items does Vee remember for free?
A: The free tier keeps the last 20 text items. Pro lists unlimited history at $3 per month or $12.99 per year.

Q: Are clipboard managers safe for passwords?
A: Maccy and Raycast say they skip passwords that a password manager removes or marks transient. Spotlight's history excludes passwords from password managers, per MakeTechEasier. Sensitive text copied from other sources can still appear, so clear history when needed.

Q: What is the default shortcut for Maccy?
A: Maccy's README lists Shift + Command + C to open the history, Option + Enter to paste, and Option + P to pin an item.

Q: Is Universal Clipboard a clipboard history?
A: No. Apple describes it as copying on one device and pasting on another nearby device signed in to the same Apple Account, and says the content stays only briefly or until you copy something else.

Q: Why does a clipboard manager need Accessibility permission?
A: It needs to respond to a global shortcut and paste into the app you are using. Vee's site says it asks for Accessibility permission so it can open on your shortcut.

Q: Can Vee keep images?
A: Its site lists image and file clipboard history under Pro. The free tier keeps text only, up to the last 20 items.

The takeaway

Clipboard history is cheap or free. What you pay for is convenience: where the list appears, how long it remembers, and whether it follows you to other devices. Start with a free option, notice what annoys you in a week, and only then pay to fix that specific annoyance.

Sources checked on October 4, 2026: the Vee, Maccy, Paste, Raycast, and Alfred vendor pages; Maccy's GitHub README; Apple's Universal Clipboard support page; nspasteboard.org; and reporting from MakeTechEasier, MacMost, and Tom's Guide on Spotlight clipboard history.